//------------------------------// // Null and Void // Story: Time, Space, and Paradoxes // by Christophe //------------------------------// The Doctor was running full tilt to try and escape the wrath of Paradox. Using his stature as a pony The Doctor could duck and weave through most obstacles. Paradox needed no such luxury in his current state of mind. Every second it took The Doctor to avoid the next hurdle was another that Paradox would just crash though said hurdle in his blood-rage. The Citizens of Ponyville, only having learned of the existence of Paradox yesterday, certainly taken by surprise by his outburst. Once the surprise had worn off they proceeded to scatter to the hills in very justifiable fear. Thankfully this left the streets free of possible civilian casualties and a clear path for Ditzy, Twilight, and the other elements to follow. Back at the carnage The Doctor bolted out of an alley believing he had slipped Paradox. This assumption was mostly due to Paradox yelling, "OH DOCTOR COME OUT TO PLAY," in the most demonic voice he could muster. With a false sense of security The Doctor rushed into the back door of his shop. The Doctor did not account for Paradox noticing the sign out front labeled "Tardis Time Pieces." The Doctor rushed up the stairs to his mostly false bedroom in search of something to help his situation. That lasted all of ten-seconds before Paradox threw a black fireball directly through the window and against the stairwell door. The girls plus DItzy rushed though town hoping The Doctor was using his wits to avoid the rage addled Paradox. That hope was completely dashed as they rounded then next corner. The smoldering remains of The Doctor's shop had settled to the ground in a heap of ash, wood, and random metal with Paradox standing over The Doctor. Paradox's eyes had turned black again and were seething red energy from the corners as he held the Tardis over his head with a wicked fanged grin (Explanation: he changed his teeth into an interlocking set of fangs). Paradox cackled maniacally as he prepared to squash the quaking mass of doctor. Twilight acted quickly and pulled The Doctor away as the improvised hammer came down. Paradox growled as he turned to the interlopers only to find Twilight glaring back at him. Paradox was stunned and dropped the Tardis off to his side while Twilight stalked up to him. Using her magic she pulled him to his knees and stood up on her hind legs. At first Paradox was confused until Twilight's hoof connected with his cheek. Paradox fell back and rubbed his cheek where he had been struck. "Paradox! This no way to behave and you know that!" Twilight yelled at him. "But…" "NO BUTS! NOW GET THAT BOX AND YOURSELF BACK TO THE LIBRARY NOW!" "…Okay…" (-Whipping noises-) ----------------- Back at the library the group sat while Paradox used his magic to repair the wall. Twilight kept glaring at him so that every-time he looked back he would cringe and return to his task. Once finished he sat next to Twilight while still staring at the floor in silence. "So Doctor why is Doxxy so mad at you?" Pinkie broke the silence. "Well, I would assume it has to do with our last adventure together." "What happened?" Dash asked. "It is a bit complicated but the short version is…" The Doctor was cut off by Paradox. "He let me fall into the void and left me there." "I'm sorry Dox, I really am but you know there was no way to go in for you. The Tardis cannot traverse the void and there would have been no way to get you inside anyway. What I am really wondering about is how you survived, I mean the void is infinite nothingness there is no way any living thing can survive in there." "Yeah, the void is a place where the laws of reality don't apply so no LIVING thing can survive there. You know very well I am outside the laws of reality in that respect." "Well, then how did you escape?" "Ya see, the void is actually a conscious entity. I know what you're thinking how can infinite nothingness be conscious. It is actually nothing AND everything at once in the form of a place rather than a being. As if saying all universes that exist between the gaps in the void were actually created by it and made into a habitable planes for life because the void knew that it could not house its creations." "Fascinating but that doesn't explain how you escaped?" "I was getting to that ya rat-bastard. As I was saying, After floating around in nothingness for about one-hundred years you start to go a little insane… or a lot insane. Anyway, at first I thought the voice in my head was just part of the insanity of soul crushing loneliness. It was actually the consciousness of the void trying to speak to me and once I acknowledged it we had a very fine conversation. With it's help I learned how to control the flow of energy and tear open holes in reality." "It taught you? So you couldn't always control magic errr energy." Dash spoke up once again. "Nope, what did you think I stuffed fonts of conflicting energy inside myself and taught myself how to use it?" "Kinda," She replied. "Riiiiiiight, so after that the void helped me find our old universe and told me it was my job to help it's creations." "It sounds like you actually got the better end of the deal darling," Said Rarity. "I know it sounds that way. Imagine you're dangling over the edge of a cliff over a vast sea and your only lifeline is your best friend's grip on you. It's going well and ya think you'll make it… until he gets distracted. Then, you're falling and all you see is his face until there is nothing. You realize that now your trapped just below the surface of the water and only surviving because ya can't drown but ya can't get back and all ya want is to see the sky again. But you're trapped, and for one-hundred years you're alone floating with nothing but the voices in your head telling you 'He let go,' 'You'll be alone forever,' and 'It was his fault' over and over again until you can't tell which one of the voices is yours. Then a miracle happens, one of the voices tells you it can save you and make you stronger and all you have to do is sell your soul. Now you're home, or a place ya wish you could call home filled with bad memories and betrayal with the power to do something about it. What's the first thing on your mind?" "…Revenge," they all say in unison except Fluttershy who had begun to sob and clutch Paradox's side while he pet her mane. "Exactly, now I was 2542 when I fell into the void and after one-hundred years the void helped me open the gate back into my own realm 1000 years before I was born in the year 2000-somethin. I tried everything to catch him I even talked to Captain Jack Harkness about his time travel watch, which I couldn't fix 'cause I lacked the base-code. So I spent 1000 years stalking the universe looking for a man that can time travel and cursing myself each time I missed him. I would have kept looking but my time was running out. See, I named myself Paradox as a way of saying I'm a creature that shouldn't exist, but if I stayed I would have really caused a one when my original self was born. So, I used my only alternative to time travel. I ripped another hole between dimensions." "How did you end up here then?" "Most people… ponies think that when you open a hole like that you pick where you're going. That is not the case. It is more like you just opened a vacuum and are sucked through the hole at such an alarming rate you slam head first into the outer wall of another plane of existence making a you sized hole in it for the void to fix. That action would kill anything mortal that isn't sealed in a void ship. So by the point I was here I just gave up, 'cause I couldn't go back to look so I decided to make the best of it here." "Paradox… there is no way I can apologize enough for what happened but I will do anything if it means you will forgive me and be my friend again." "Doctor I have let hate fester for over a millennia. There is no way I can just say I forgive you and go back to being your friend. In fact I have so many voices screaming at me to turn you into a paste to spread on my toast." "I see I'll just…" Paradox once again cut The Doctor off. "But I am at least willing to try and work out our differences and not eat you alive….Yet." Paradox flashed his toothy grin causing everypony, aside from the emotionally distressed Fluttershy, to cringe in terror. ------------------ After a long touchy feely moment with Paradox at the center, the group moved into Ponyville to survey the damage. Most of the residents had returned and were sifting though the wreckage of destroyed carts, stalls, and one unfortunate gazebo. Paradox was shocked by the destruction he had brought down on this peaceful village. "Oi, I really messed up this time,huh." "I would say so, but I'm sure they will forgive you if you fix everything," Twilight reasoned. Paradox nodded. "OH, Paradox I have been wondering something. You said you have fonts of positive and negative energy but you seem to be better with the negative than the positive. Why is that?" Questioned The Doctor. "Ah, my fonts are limited, in a sense, so I can use the energy in the air. Our old universe was filled to the brim with negative energy from all the negative emotions like hate, jealousy, and pride. So, I just learned to control what was in abundance." "Oh…but there are hardly any bad thoughts here… only love and tolerance." Fluttershy whispered. "Exactly so I'll get to learn more about positive energy and the lighter side of casting." After that the group started to repair the many wrecks around town. After a while ponies started to slip away all over town. The group were to engrossed in reconstruction to notice the ever-growing lack of towns ponies. When all of the smaller things were fixed the team moved on to the largest site of destruction. "Doctor, what's up with the clock shop you never seemed like the kind to settle down," Paradox stared at the ash wondering how he was going to fix that. "Well, I didn't actually settle down but I do need some way to make money seeing as ponies lack electronic banking. Besides with the Tardis I can take all the time I need fill orders and go on adventures alike." The Doctor replied while sifting though the pieces. Twilight pulled a book from her saddlebags and handed it to Paradox. The bookmarked page detailed a spell for reverting ash. Paradox took this as his signal to begin reconstruction. The Doctor took off to retrieve the Tardis from the library while the rest prepared everything. An eerie calm took over the town as The Doctor landed next to the mostly repaired first floor of his shop. The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis and left the doors open for quick access to parts. The shop was finished in no time with all the help. The group looked upon their handiwork and sighed with content. Nothing could possibly go wrong now. "There he is!" Yelled a random Ponyville citizen upon spotting Paradox. An angry mob charged towards Paradox with murderous intent. Paradox and Twilight set up a barrier to halt their advance. The mob stopped and scrapped at the dirt waiting for their chance to get at the offender. "What the hay is wrong with ya'll?" Applejack was appalled by the sight of peacefully villagers turned savages, "Ya'll calm down so we can talk this out." The mob stopped their pawing and seemed to calm slightly but continued to glare at Paradox. Paradox and Twilight slowly lowered the barrier and relaxed their stances. This was a clear mistake as Big Mac barreled through the crowd and straight into Paradox. Paradox flew through the air directly through the open Tardis doors. He impacted the control panel, the doors flew shut, and a familiar sound echoed through the town. "BIG MACINTOSH! WHAT WAS THAT FER!" Cried Applejack. "He wrecked the town AJ and now he went and ran away," retorted Big Mac. The remaining group explained the situation to the angry mob. The mob grew less and less angry as the story went on until they felt just terrible about what they did to him. The guilt only grew as The Doctor explained he was stuck somewhere in time with a broken spaceship that he has no idea how to fly. Everypony stood in silence, some stared at their hooves and others openly sobbed for wronging the hero of their country. Silence remained until that familiar sound began to echo through the town again. The Tardis appeared before them in all it's blue and sexy glory. The town was in awe for only moments before The Doctor had claimed he couldn't drive said ship and that it was damaged. Paradox strode out of the doors and looked around at the shocked expressions. "If you think this is something, ya'll aren't gonna believe the what happened." A/N: So plenty of backstory with a kinda happy conclusion, a free Tardis joy ride, and more backstory next time. Also I am totally open for ideas and if you want to have an OC included just drop me a message, 'cause it took me forever to think up names for Red Ink and Twi's parents in chapter 3.